The Dearly Series

Gone With the Respiration, or The Dearly Series was born on an eight-hour bus ride to New York City. In fact, here are some of the first notes I wrote to myself:

So, what’s it all about? Basically zombies, pretty dresses, and guns. Set a few hundred years in the future, the steampunk-infused series follows the adventures of an unlikely group of teenagers as they navigate a world monumentally altered by time, climate change, war, and the ravenous dead. Told with a sense of humor, equal parts paranormal fantasy and sci-fi, the story stresses the importance of loyalty, trust, and the quality of a person’s soul over the condition of his or her body.

There are currently two books in the series, available in ebook format from Random House. Click the covers for more information!

1. Nora, Bram, and most of the (only vaguely outlined) plot for Dearly, Departed were dreamed up on an eight-hour bus ride to New York City for a neo-Victorian event. Despite this promising beginning, I did little planning before beginning to write. Most characters were nothing more than a first name and a random hair color before they first hit the page. Their personalities and backgrounds came to me on the fly.

2. I wrote the first draft of Dearly, Departed in a little over a month. During my most prolific week, I was writing upwards of 10,000 words a day. I have no idea where it all came from. (It took me three months to write the first draft of the sequel, Dearly, Beloved.)

3. Most hilarious edit made: My first editor was fine with the zombie who carts around his own useless eye, the headless zombie, the jokes about human boxed lunches, the guy with his throat ripped out, and even the zombie/living kiss – but, “Can Bram not be green? Can you make him really pale instead?” I happily obliged.

4. I’ve watched over 100 zombie movies, read tons of zombie books and comics, run through the Monroeville Mall, cuddled zombie toys, perched on a tombstone in the cemetery where the original Night of the Living Dead was filmed, and even held a real human brain in my hands – but I have never worn zombie makeup.